Hambantota district leader and former Fisheries minister Mahinda Rajapaksha
is the most suitable candidate for the post of the Leader of the
Opposition, a senior member of the Peoples’ Alliance (PA) said. " If a
person like Mahinda, who is close to the ordinary people, take over the
leadership people will again gather around the PA" Galle district
parliamentarian and former Vocational Training minister Amarasiri Dodamgoda
told The Lanka Academic.

Mr. Ddamgoda said that it was the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) who
gained from the loss of the ex-ruling party. " Many PA supporters voted for
the JVP this time. Together with those votes, the PA would have won the
Galle district" PA’s first Chief Minister of the Southern Province said when
asked why the party lost whole Province, which is considered as a left-wing
stronghold.

" The PA’s election mechanism was wrong. The leadership wanted to satisfy
certain individuals rather than addressing the voters’ concerns. The
election campaign was carried out by a group of individuals close to the
leadership who did not have a clue on the electorate." He told BBC’s
Sandeshaya.

Commenting on the downfall of former Post and Telecommunications minister
Indika Gunawardhana, Mr. Dodamgoda said that the same error of judgement has
been identified.
Mr. Gunawardhana contested from the PA ticket representing the Sri Lanka
Communist Party (CP). " Though he is member of the CP, he was far away from
the comrades".

ELECTION AND VIOLENCE:
As we approach the parliamentary elections local and International
monitors including the EU commission have issued statements of
condemnations against the spiraling rate of violence and the involvement of
all major political parties in such incidents. Although as a
non-political entity we do not have any affiliation with any of the
political parties contesting the elections/indulging in violent activities
we invite all our readers wherever you are to assert your right to voice
your opinion in the interest of preserving our country of birth as a
functioning democracy. Please use our forum to express your opinion and we
will make every effort to publish as many of your letters as possible under
our usual guidelines of decency and coherence.
Please have your say and let your voice be heard by clicking
The Letters to the Editor

TLA Poll: Election 2001

Which political party will win most seats in the Sri Lankan parliament in the Election 2001?
View TLA Poll Results

This was a poll conducted by The Lanka Academic
to survey your opinion. As with all internet
polls, the results may contain a bias different
from an official poll. Nevertheless, it
is an opportunity to gauge the
"temperature" of the general public.

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Ranil invites PA to join govt.Roy Mendis in Colombo,10.30 PM SLT Saturday December 8,2001.
Mr.Ranil Wickremesinghe,who is to be sworn in as Sri Lankan Prime Minister
here on sunday at 2.30 pm,had told President Chandrika Kumaratunga that he
would like her Peoples' Alliance (PA) to join his government to give it
strength and stability as a "National Government."
An informed source in the top echelons of the United National Party (UNP)
said that the PA's leadership did not pooh pooh the idea but said that for
the time being,they would like to sit in the opposition.The chances of the
PA revising its stand in the weeks and months to come,were bright,the
source said.
The UNP is bothered by the fact that it has only 114 members even in its
incarnation as the United National Front (UNF)...

Act impartially, Chandrika tells armed forcesThe Hindu NUS,Colombo, Dec. 8. (PTI).
In what appeared to be the beginning of a power tussle, chastened Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunga issued a special directive to armed forces asserting that she continued to be their commander and would brook no undermining of her authority as Opposition leader Ranil Wickremasinghe, whose party won the elections, prepared to form the government...

Sri Lanka moderate Tamils mull support for new governmentYahoo/IANS,09 December 2001.
Sri Lanka's moderate Tamil parties are considering supporting the new government led by former opposition United National Party (UNP), which has pledged to revive peace talks with Tamil Tiger rebels...

Curfew lifted, reimposed in Sri Lanka123India.com,Dec 08 2001 23:00 IST.
Curfew, which was lifted here on Saturday morning, was re-imposed as a precautionary measure fearing riots might erupt following the bloodiest ever elections held in the Island nation...

Sri Lanka's new PM to visit India123India.com,Dec 08 2001 20:55 IST.
Sri Lanka's Prime minister-elect Ranil Wickremesinghe said Saturday that he will travel to neighbouring India this month for talks with Indian leaders...

Sri Lanka set for co-habitation talks amid curfew123India.com,08 December 2001.
Sri Lanka President Chandrika Kumaratunga was set for face-to-face talks Saturday with her main rival and premier-elect as curfews were reimposed in the wake of the island's bloodiest-ever election...

Chandrika asks opposition to form govtDawn,COLOMBO, Dec 7.
Sri Lanka's main opposition leader was invited Friday to form a new government as a curfew was imposed to tackle post-election violence that claimed at least another three lives...

Ducks have a field day in Sri Lanka vote123India,December 8.
Six independent groups and one recognised political party are in
the running for the dubious honour of obtaining the lowest number of votes in Sri Lanka's
parliamentary elections...

US condemns Sri Lanka election violence123India.com,Dec 08 2001 04:11 IST.
The United States condemned a rash of violence which marred Sri Lanka's election campaign Friday, but said the vote, which set up an uneasy cohabitation between the president and new prime minister, appeared free and fair...

EU monitors appalled by Sri Lankan president's revenge remarks123India.com,Dec 07 2001 19:50 IST.
A European Union poll observer team Friday expressed grave concern over election-related violence in Sri Lanka and said they were appalled that President Chandrika Kumaratunga had justified revenge attacks during the campaign...

Sri Lanka Gets New Prime MinisterNothern Light,Saturday, December 08, 2001 3:51 AM EST .
Ranil Wickremesinghe, named Friday as Sri Lanka's next prime minister, wanted to be journalist, but entered politics after his family's publishing empire was nationalized by a socialist government...

JVP shows massive increaseTamilnet,December 7.
The final results of the elections to Sri Lanka's 12th Parliament showed an
upswing in popularity not only for the United National Party but also most
remarkably in favour of the radical Marxist Janata Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP)...

Sri Lanka president seeks co-operation with new PM123India.com,Dec 07 2001 21:57 IST.
Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunga Friday expressed willingness to cooperate with her bitter rival Ranil Wickremesinghe who will become the new prime minister after his party won the country's parliamentary elections...

Never ending curfews in Sri LankaNewIndPress,December 7.
It WAS all over other than the shouting.
President Chandrika Kumaratunga had already invited
Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe for talks on the
formation of the next government, though the final results
were yet to be declared...

Dayananda Dissanayake stands tallBandula Jayasekara in Colombo,SLT 5.20 p.m Friday 7 December.
Commissioner of Elections Dayananda Dissanayake delivering his address
after the conclusion of the elections said that he was glad that he and
his staff could conduct a fair election despite threats, intimidation
and insults...

"UNP-LTTE nexus theory fails to impress Sri Lankans"The Hindu NUS,Colombo, Dec. 7. (PTI).
With the United National Party (UNP) winning a comfortable majority in the Sri Lankan Parliament, it has become clear that the theory of a UNP-LTTE "nexus" flaunted by the People's Allinace during election campaign had failed to stir the voters, a UNP spokesman said...

Sri Lanka's Ranatunga scores but team bowled outMSNBC,december 7.
Sri Lanka's cricket
World Cup-winning captain Arjuna
Ranatunga won a seat in the
parliamentary election on Friday but will
sit in opposition after his party was
bowled out of government...

Prime Minister elect calls for peaceWaruna Karunatilake in Colombo,1550 slt 07.12.01.
Prime Minister elect in a has called for peace and requested his supporters
to refrain from holding demonstration or rallies to mark the victory...

Prime Minister concedes victory and resignsWaruna Karunatilake in Colombo,1503 slt 07.12.01.
Prime Minister Ratanasiri Wickremenayake has tendered his resignation after
conceding victory to the United National Front in the December 5th General
Elections...

Two killed in post-election violence in Sri Lanka123India,December 7.
At least two people were shot dead when rival Tamil political
parties clashed in northern Sri Lanka Friday shortly after election results were announced
there, officials said...

7 LTTE men killed in Lanka fightingTOI,December 7.
Sri Lanka's army launched a major
attack on Tamil Tiger rebels in the country's
east - killing at least seven rebels, the defence
ministry said Friday...